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NUUS | NEWS
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Shark attack: a survivor speaks IT’s been 13 years, and Sergio Capri (55) can still recall seeing a set of large gills right beside him. On 29 July 1999, Capri was fortunate enough to survive a horrific shark attack. It was around midday when he went surfing at the Kogel Bay “Caves”, the same spot were David Lilienfeld (20) was killed last Thursday. Capri had just caught a wave and was paddling out to sea when he felt himself moving sideways. He explains that the shark had grabbed hold of him, with its bottom jaw beneath the surfboard and his top jaw over his buttocks. “I don’t know what happened next,
but all I saw was a lot of blood around me. After the shark released me I remember seeing his tail moving back out to sea.” His board had snapped, and Capri tried desperately to paddle to shore. The shark had bitten him on the right leg, and his back above the hip. “This is not happening. I don’t want to die,” are the words he recalls running through his mind. Another surfer helped him ashore. Paramedics were called, and he was airlifted to hospital. After five minutes in the helicopter, Capri had already lost nearly half his blood. “Everything just worked for me that day,” he says with a smile.
The description of the shark, a great white of around four or five metres in length, is similar to that of Lilienfeld’s attacker. Sergio Capri. Three months later Capri was back in the water. He even went surfing again at the spot where he was attacked. “Going into the sea is a chance you take. I’ve been surfing for 45 years; the sharks are there, and I’ve seen many cruise past.” Capri says he can’t imagine the trauma Lilienfeld’s loved ones are going through.
Geliefdes bring hulde HONDERDE mense het Sondagoggend in Kampsbaai bymekaar gekom om hulde aan David Lilienfeld (20) te bring. Lilienfeld het in 2010 aan die Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck in Kaapstad gematrikuleer. Hy het ’n voorliefde vir lyfplankry-sport en vir die see gehad en het sedert 2001 lyfplankry beoefen. Hy het in Kampsbaai gewoon en het sy Suid-Afrikaanse
David Lilienfeld (20). Foto: Facebook
kleure in lyfplankry verwerf. Duisende boodskappe van medelye het op sosiale netwerke soos Facebook en Twitter ingestroom. Kort na Lilienfeld gesterf het, het sy pa, Dirk gesê: “This was his life and he died doing what he loved.” Honderde lyf- en branderplankryers het ’n huldigingsirkel in die see gevorm. Sy broer Gustav het dié boodskap op sy Facebook-
Tragedy strikes at sea IT WAS an afternoon intended to have been a fun session of surfing, but it ended in tragedy. Thursday 19 April is a day many will not forget – especially the family and friends of David Lilienfeld (20) from Camps Bay, who was killed by a shark. At around 12:30 that day David, his brother Gustav and friend Kirk Morgan went bodyboarding at a popular surfing
Friends mourn David s death. Photo: Nikita Sylvester
spot known as the “Caves” at Dappat se Gat in Kogel Bay. Provincial police spokesperson colonel André Traut says David and Gustav were next to each other in the water when a great white shark attacked David. The shark took hold of the Springbok bodyboarder, dragged him under the water and bit off his right leg. “The brother pulled David onto his board and brought him out of the water,” says Traut. Paramedics, however, declared him dead on the scene. According to a City of Cape Town report, eyewitness Matt Marais had been surfing at the Caves prior to the attack. He saw two bodyboarders paddling out; minutes later he heard shouting and saw David being attacked by the shark. The shark made three passes at David, Marais said, but only on the third pass did he see blood in the water.
profiel geskryf: “So much love from everyone. Its been said a billion times and we will keep saying it – Dave was pure awesomeness and legend in a human form. Always full of spirit and amped for a mission. He would be so stoked seeing how many people loved him and cared for him. We will carry on his legacy and he will always be our brother. Can’t thank everyone enough for showing your love for him. Turnout for the paddle was unreal. Dave was definitely there with us...”
After the final strike the four- to fivemetre-long shark moved away. Charl Cilliers, manager of ambulance services for Gordon’s Bay Medical Rescue, was one of the first paramedics on the scene. He says Gustav and two other bystanders had carried David’s body to the rocks. “As we got to the body we found his brother lying next to him and holding him,” he says. “We looked for signs of life, but there was no pulse. There was nothing we could do. He was already dead.” Cilliers says David’s right leg had been bitten off below his hip, and he’d sustained a secondary bite on the hip. The ultimate cause of David’s death is not yet known. Cilliers says he could have drowned, or died as a result of blood loss. Dirk Lilienfeld, David’s father, arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. “Gustav cried a lot but did not say anything,” says Cilliers. “Dirk just wanted to see his son’s face. “They just held each other.”
Nobody knows why MANY have their theories on why the shark that killed David Lilienfeld was in the area, or why it attacked, but no one is entirely sure. Sarah Titley, Shark Spotters project manager, says it’s normal for sharks to be near the shore this time of year. Spotters have seen a number of sharks along the coast all week. “We can’t say where the sharks came from; they were already there,” says Titley. She says that, earlier on the day of the attack, a school of dolphins had been swimming in the area, and birds had been feeding there. “This could have attracted the shark.” Asked about the belief that shark research conducted at Seal Island in False Bay – which involved chumming and tagging sharks – had something to do with the attack, Titley says it is highly unlikely. “The chum the researchers used was either less or about the same amount that cage divers in the area of Kogel Bay use to attract sharks.” Furthermore, the programme operated on the preceding Sunday and Monday. Any residual chum would have dissipated within hours and, due to the wind direction, moved away from Kogel Bay, according to a report by the City of Cape Town. Meanwhile, Shark Spotters held a meeting in the Strand on Monday to discuss stationing spotters at the Caves. The initiative was well supported, and a request was made to have spotters at the site all year round. After a year, it was suggested, it could be assessed whether it would be necessary to keep the spotters at the site in winter. The Shark Spotters are now implementing the request. “It may take some time as we need to get approval and funding, and we need to train spotters,” says Titley. Local surfer Philip Nel shared his views about the incident the next day on his blog. “It’s almost impossible to objectify the cause of such an attack,” he wrote. “How can any of us (including the shark scientists) claim to know enough to predict great white shark behaviour accurately? We surf this bay. We know the rules. We enter our other world each time we get knee-deep. “We all have numerous stories of encountering these apex predators while surfing here. It’s a sad day here in the Boland. . . one of us died yesterday. Sometimes they take us. “Rest in peace David. . . We’ll miss you truly, brother. . .”
Articles and photographs compiled by Nikita Sylvester and Illana Frantz.